Happy Birthday to the King and the Thin White Duke

1935: Elvis Presley

1947: David Bowie

Also born today:

1946: Robby Krieger (The Doors)

1947: Terry Sylvester (The Hollies)

1970: Max Yasgur the farmer who allowed his land to be the site of the Woodstock Music Festival is sued by his neighbors for $35,000 for damage to their property caused by festival attendees. Peace and love, my eye!

1975: Boston’s mayor Ken White cancels an upcoming Led Zeppelin concert when more than a thousand fans riot while waiting for advance tickets to go on sale. The fans cause $30,000 in damages.

1979: The double album soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever, largely featuring the music of the Bee Gees, reaches the 25 million copies mark, making it the best-selling album in history to that date.

1954: A young truck driver named Elvis Presley strolls into the Memphis Recording Service saying he wants to record a song for his mother's birthday (a dubious claim as it was still many months away). He records "Casual Love Affair" and "I’ll Never Stand in Your Way."

The owner of the studio, Sam Phillips, hears the recording and immediately calls Elvis back to record professionally for Phillips’ Sun Records.

1987: Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

1978: Rhino Records, an independent record store in L.A. releases its first album, “Wildman” by Wild Man Fisher. From that humble beginning, Rhino’s music & video releases today (all mainly in the “oldies” category) preserve much of our musical heritage.

Happy New Year!

1962: The Beatles with Pete Best still on drums audition for Decca Records in London. Decca A&R man Dick Rowe tells the boys’ manager, Brain Epstein, "Guitar groups are on the way out,” and instead signs Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, who also had a New Years’ audition. Rowe redeems himself by signing The Rolling Stones, Them (Van Morrison), The Moody Blues, The Zombies, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Tom Jones, and The Small Faces to Decca in the years after Beatlemania sweeps the UK.

Two rock icons made their stage debuts on this day.

1961: The Beach Boys (formerly The Pendletons) play their first gig under their new name at the Ritchie Valens Memorial Concert in Long Beach, CA. They are paid a whopping $300.

The very same night, a young Janis Joplin makes her first on-stage appearance at the Halfway House in Beaumont, TX.

Happy Birthday to a whole bunch of rock legends…

1928: Bo Diddley

1934: Del Shannon

1937: Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul & Mary)

1942: Michael Nesmith

1945: Davy Jones

1947: Jeff Lynne